2022 was quite the year for free speech. Before we officially enter the new year, let’s take a look back at the top seven best – and worst – free speech moments of 2022. This is not intended to serve as a ranked list, but to highlight the seven most prominent stories highlighting Big Tech censorship throughout the year.
The Biden Administration Pilots the Disinformation Governance Board
The Biden administration quickly flexed its anti-free speech muscles through its introduction of the Disinformation Governance Board (DGB), which was designed to combat so-called misinformation.
The Department of Homeland Security later terminated the Disinformation Governance Board after MRC Business unearthed connections to liberal billionaire George Soros.
However, the Biden administration indicated that we have not seen the last of the Disinformation Governance Board. A Homeland Security Advisory Council report claimed the DHS "can and must" still work to counter so-called disinformation “consistent with the law and best practices.”
Secondhand Censorship Showcases Censorship’s True Harm
Using our exclusive CensorTrack database, the Media Research Center quantified the true harms of censorship through our “Secondhand Censorship” report.
MRC Free Speech America revealed that censorship not only impacts the individual censored but also every user who followed the censored account.
During the first three quarters of 2022, social media platforms denied over 251 million social media users access to information.
PayPal’s Financial Censorship
PayPal also seemed to take a swing at free speech when individuals and groups such as Gays Against Groomers, UsForThem and the Free Speech Union said the payment processing site shut down their accounts or froze their funds.
The payment processing site’s alleged censorship put the true harms of censorship on full display by withholding funds from organizations.
If Big Tech companies continue to target individuals, small businesses and organizations simply because they don’t agree with what they have to say, then Big Tech becomes no better than a totalitarian social credit system.
Google Interferes with Elections
In October, MRC Free Speech America researchers caught Google burying Republican candidates’ campaign websites in search results ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The search engine ranked 10 of 12 Senate Republican candidates’ campaign websites (83%) far lower on page one of its organic search results compared to their Democratic opponents’ campaign websites.
MRC Free Speech America researchers also analyzed the 36 top House races, only to find that Google showed no bias against Republicans in those races, where polling showed the House was widely expected to fall under Republican control in the next Congress. A third study exposed Google for burying candidates who have aggressively acted against Big Tech, either legislatively or vocally, and attempted to manipulate undecided voters in the Georgia runoff Senate race.
Is there any other way to describe Google’s actions other than an attempt to interfere in American elections?
LA and MO Lawsuit Investigates Big Tech and Government Collusion
In a win for transparency and free speech, the states of Louisiana and Missouri sued government officials for conspiring with Big Tech to censor free speech under the pretext of fighting so-called “misinformation,” “disinformation” and “malinformation.”
The ongoing lawsuit cited a Media Research Center study that uncovered 646 instances over the last two years where social media platforms censored public criticism of then-candidate and now-President Joe Biden.
Mark Zuckerberg Admits Facebook Censored Hunter Biden Scandal after FBI Pressure
Joe Rogan shined a spotlight on online censorship when he interviewed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
On an episode of Rogan’s podcast, Zuckerberg admitted that his platform censored the bombshell New York Post Hunter Biden story after the FBI told the platform to “be on high alert” for “some kind of dump” of “Russian propaganda.”
That would not be the last time we heard of government collusion with Big Tech companies in 2022.
Elon Musk Releases the Twitter Files
Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk pulled back the curtain on Twitter’s censorship enterprise by releasing the Twitter Files.
The various installments of the Twitter Files detailed the ongoing relationships of Big Tech platforms with federal government agencies, including the CIA and FBI.
Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk tweeted about the Files, “Most people don’t appreciate the significance of the point Matt was making. *Every* social media company is engaged in heavy censorship, with significant involvement of and, at times, explicit direction of the government.”
Hopefully, Musk and the new leadership at Twitter will continue their commitment to transparency and implement pro-free speech policies on the platform.
As we enter the new year, help us continue to fight against those who wish to silence anyone who disagrees with radical leftist ideology.
Visit CensorTrack.org to stay updated on free speech news or check out some of our previous episodes of CensorTrack with Paiten:
- George Soros: The Money Behind Leftist Media & Censorship
- 2 Years Too Late? Ex-Twitter Safety Chief Admits Censoring NY Post Hunter Biden Story a Mistake
- TikTok CEO: Content Moderation (Censorship) Is a ‘Top Priority’
- And more!
Conservatives are under attack. If you have been censored, contact us at the MRC Free Speech America contact form on CensorTrack.org, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
